Filipinos urged to fact-check to counter the spread of disinformation in the Philippines

Christian Esguerra, 2020 Marshall McLuhan Fellow, discusses the issues the Philippine media face amid the abundance of disinformation slowly dominating the source of the public’s opinion. | 📷 : Emmariel Ares and Niña Mae Oliverio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Fact-checking is significant especially amidst the phenomenon of disinformation that is plaguing the Philippines.

That is what the 2020 Marshall McLuhan Fellow Christian Esguerra emphasized in his talk during the Marshall McLuhan Forum Series on Responsible Media on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, at the University of San Jose-Recoletos.

One of the most problematic issues that the Philippine media is facing today is the abundance of disinformation that is slowly dominating the source of the public’s opinion.

And due to the accessibility that technology and the internet can offer, it continues to grow day by day as a threat to the democracy of the Philippines.

The problem of disinformation

In his talk on “Democracy at Stake: The Battle Against Systematic Disinformation in the Philippines,” Esguerro provided an analysis on the nature of the phenomenon of disinformation in the Philippines, how would it affect the democratic process of the country, and how media and stakeholders would counter the threats of disinformation.

“If you want to understand the problem of disinformation, it actually allows certain voices to flourish…The basic question is—what are the voices being heard and which particular voices are being suppressed?” said Esguerro in his opening statement. 

In front of students from different universities, he explained that disinformation was an underlying problem that would eventually cause bigger issues such as violence against journalists and attacks on press freedom.

Esguerra added that the media industry in the Philippines had experienced various turmoils for the past years and these events were heavily influenced by the prevalence of disinformation particularly in politics.

Significance of fact-checking

As a veteran journalist, Esguerra underlined the significance of fact-checking in the battle against this issue.

“Fact-checking is very important. They (people) have to understand the limitations of fact-checking. Dapat matuto tayong lahat mag fact-check dahil pumapasok yung critical thinking,” he said.

(Fact-checking is very important. They (people have to understand the limitations of fact-checking. All of us should learn to fact-check because then critical thinking will enter.)

He said that fact-checking would not be enough and among the factors of it would be due to people’s “partisan beliefs” that even in the face of truth, the people would not really bother to care. 

Disinformation attacks the very core of what journalism is about which is truth-telling. Another suggestion the journalist made on how to fight against this matter is the improvement of the educational system in the country.

Esguerra is also an educator on political reporting and journalism ethics at the University of Santo Tomas. He discussed the influence of sufficient knowledge on the citizen’s capability to discern the truthfulness of any news.

His talk highlighted that there was much that good educators could do to prevent the spread of disinformation anywhere.

“Instead of simply saying ‘sana maturuan sila (students) ng tama,’ ‘huwag sila maturuan ng mali,” Esguerra said, referring to his students. 

(Instead of simply saying ‘that I hope that they (the students) can be taught the right things,’ (but) ‘they should not be taught the wrong things.)

Some 129 Journalism students attend the Marshall McLuhan Forum Series on Responsible Media on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, at the University of San Jose-Recoletos audio-visual room. | 📷 : Emmariel Ares and Niña Mae Oliverio

Marshall McLuhan Fellowship for Excellence

The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines awarded the 2020 Marshall McLuhan Fellowship for Excellence in Journalism to Christian Esguerra for his commendable work in raising the bar in Philippine journalism and for leading the way for independent journalism.

He first presented his topic in Canada and now he is visiting universities in the Philippines to talk in front of students.

According to Carlos Figueroa, Public Affairs Attache of the Embassy of Canada, the Marshall McLuhan Forum is all about celebrating excellence in local journalism. 

“Gustong iparating ng forum na ito na importante yung role ng media sa isang demokrasya,” Figueroa said.

(I would like to convey through this forum the important role of the media in a democracy.)

Talk is informative, eye-opening

Nikki Daryl Medalla, a third-year Journalism student from USJ-R, said that she was thankful for being able to meet and listen to Esguerra. 

“I was actually able to witness the forum in 2018 and 2019. And even if this is my third time, I still find the talk extremely informative as well as eye-opening. I hope this will serve as an encouragement to other student journalists to be brave and speak up,” Medalla told CDN.

The series is an annual event organized by the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines in partnership with different universities in the country. It returns after two years since the last time it was held in January 2020. 

This year’s forum, which was held at the Audio Visual Room of the University of San Jose-Recoletos on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, was attended by 129 students from different colleges and universities in Cebu namely: University of San Jose-Recoletos, University of Cebu, Cebu Institute of Technology-University, Cebu Normal University, and Cebu Eastern College. | Emmariel Ares and Niña Mae Oliverio – CDN Interns

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